Method for detecting a leak on a non-rigid test specimen

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9810600-B2
Application number	US-201214369960-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2012
Priority date	Jan 3, 2012
Publication date	Nov 7, 2017
Grant date	Nov 7, 2017

Abstract

The invention relates to a simplified method for detecting leaks on a non-rigid test specimen, comprising the steps of: introducing the test specimen into a film chamber, lowering the pressure in the film chamber outside of said test specimen, and detecting a leak in the test specimen on the basis of a spatial change in the film of said film chamber.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for detecting leaks on a non-rigid test specimen, comprising the steps of:
introducing the test specimen into a film chamber,
lowering the pressure in the film chamber outside of said test specimen, and
detecting a leak in the test specimen on the basis of a spatial change in a film of said film chamber; and
wherein the pressure in the film chamber is reduced to a pressure that is lower than the pressure in the test specimen by at least 500 mbar and preferably by at least 950 mbar.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein, after the introduction of the test specimen, the closed film chamber shows a leakage rate during detection that is at least as high or at least twice as high as a leakage rate of the test specimen.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spatial change in the film is measured by laser-optical measurement of a position of the film surface.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the laser-optical measurement is performed by measuring the change in deflection of a laser directed onto the film surface.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spatial change in the film is detected by measuring the capacitance change of a metalized film surface.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spatial change in the film is detected by means of a device that indicates contact or the absence of contact with the film surface.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the leakage rate of a gas escaping through the leak in the test specimen is calculated in dependence on the measured spatial change in the film.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reduction of the pressure in the film chamber is performed while maintaining the atmospheric pressure in the test specimen.

Assignees

• Inficon Gmbh
• Infinicon Gmbh

Inventors

• Wetzig Daniel
• Decker Silvio

Classifications

• G01M3/36 Primary

  by detecting change in dimensions of the structure being tested · CPC title

• G01M3/3281 Primary

  removably mounted in a test cell · CPC title

• G01M3/40

  by using electric means, e.g. by observing electric discharges · CPC title

• G01M3/38

  by using light (G01M3/02 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01M3/3218

  for flexible or elastic containers · CPC title